4 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Candidates
4
Incumbent
Jim Pillen
Parties
Republican · Democratic · America First · Legal Marijuana NOW
4 candidates · ballot order · Jim Pillen currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Property tax relief as the central commitment of his governorship.
Not growing government — he has pledged that as long as he is governor 'we will not be growing government,' with increased property tax relief as the exception.
Further state budget cuts to offset local property taxes.
Income tax cuts.
Agriculture and rural economic development.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Governor of Nebraska since January 2023; veterinarian and hog producer; former University of Nebraska regent.
Made property tax relief the centrepiece of his term, including a 2024 special session on the subject.
Signed the mid-biennium budget adjustment package in 2026.
Two of his four legislative sessions have been spent closing projected budget deficits, fed partly by increased spending on property tax relief and income tax cuts — a combined gap of more than $1 billion across those two years.
Legislative Fiscal Office estimates in April 2026 project a $632 million deficit for the next two-year budget covering July 2027 to June 2029.
Won the May 12 2026 Republican primary with about 75.4% (142,301 votes) in a six-candidate field.
Arguments in favor
Property tax relief has been the through-line of his term, and he says he is '100% confident' lawmakers can balance the budget and invest in more of it.
— Jim Pillen, in a May 2025 Nebraska Examiner interview
He has held the line on the size of state government — 'we will not be growing government' — apart from spending on property tax relief.
— Jim Pillen for Governor campaign
He sold his budget and legislative wins directly to voters at the end of the 2026 session and won renomination with about three-quarters of the primary vote against five opponents.
— Jim Pillen for Governor campaign, as reported by Nebraska Examiner
Arguments against
'Our state is broke and Pillen can't balance the budget. People feel our elected officials aren't listening' — his budget handling has been 'irresponsible and lazy.'
— Lynne Walz, Democratic nominee
The tax cuts and property tax relief spending have dug a combined budget hole of more than $1 billion across two sessions, with a projected $632 million deficit still ahead for the 2027-2029 budget.
— Nebraska Legislative Fiscal Office projections, as reported by Nebraska Examiner
Recurring spending must be backed by recurring revenue, and this administration has not governed that way — the premise of the 'Nebraska Doctrine' a former Republican state senator is running against him on.
— Brett Lindstrom, America First Party candidate
What we couldn’t verify
His official campaign website could not be verified, so no URL is listed.
How he would close the projected $632 million deficit while continuing property tax relief.
His position on Nebraska's abortion law and on the state's school choice programme could not be established from a source read directly.
Lowering the cost of food, health care and childcare.
Universal homestead exemptions and a cap on property valuations.
Ending what she calls price gouging, a temporary gas tax holiday and an annual school-supply sales tax holiday.
Growing the state economy as the route to expanded property tax relief.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 15th district, 2017-2025; the body is officially nonpartisan.
Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Nebraska in 2018.
Worked with Republicans on property tax relief legislation in the legislature.
Formed a gubernatorial exploratory committee in November 2025 and launched her campaign in January 2026.
Won the May 12 2026 Democratic primary with about 91.5% (116,458 votes).
Released a platform document, 'Lynne's Commitment to Nebraskans,' in July 2026 that Nebraska Examiner reported was short on specifics.
Arguments in favor
She worked across the aisle on property tax relief in a nonpartisan legislature, and is proposing universal homestead exemptions and a valuations cap rather than a general rate cut.
— Lynne Walz for Governor campaign
Her cost agenda targets what households actually pay — food, health care and childcare — plus a gas tax holiday and a school-supply sales tax holiday.
— Lynne Walz for Governor campaign
'Our state is broke and Pillen can't balance the budget. People feel our elected officials aren't listening.'
— Lynne Walz, Democratic nominee
Arguments against
Her July 2026 platform, 'Lynne's Commitment to Nebraskans,' skipped the specifics — including her own approach to property taxes, where she has said only that the state needs to grow its economy.
— Nebraska Examiner
She is running in a state that has not elected a Democratic governor since 1994, against an incumbent who took about three-quarters of his primary vote.
— Nebraska Republican Party
What we couldn’t verify
Her official campaign website could not be verified, so no URL is listed.
How universal homestead exemptions and a valuations cap would be funded given the state's projected deficit.
Little criticism of her by name from the Pillen campaign was located, so only two arguments against are listed; a reviewer should treat that as thin.
The 'Nebraska Doctrine': fiscal discipline, economic growth over government growth, and the rule that recurring spending must be backed by recurring revenue.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Member of the Nebraska Legislature, 2015-2023.
Candidate for the Republican nomination for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2014, and for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2022, losing to Jim Pillen.
Declined the Republican route in 2026 and ran as an independent; his campaign submitted 5,765 signatures, of which 3,358 were validated, short of what was needed.
After the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way for the America First Party and the Nebraska Working People Party to gain official party status, he registered with America First and filed as its candidate on September 1 2026.
Arguments in favor
His 'Nebraska Doctrine' names the specific fiscal rule the state has broken — recurring spending must be backed by recurring revenue — against a budget that has run more than $1 billion in combined deficits across two sessions.
— Brett Lindstrom for Governor campaign
He served eight years in the legislature and has run statewide before, so he is not an unknown quantity offering a protest vote.
— Brett Lindstrom for Governor campaign
Arguments against
He failed to qualify for the ballot as an independent — only 3,358 of his 5,765 signatures were validated — and reached it only through a party recognised by court order weeks before the filing deadline.
— Nebraska Examiner and Nebraska Public Media reporting
He is running a second campaign against the same incumbent who beat him in the 2022 Republican primary, this time from outside the party, which Republicans treat as a spoiler bid rather than a serious alternative.
— Nebraska Republican Party
What we couldn’t verify
His official campaign website could not be verified, so no URL is listed.
His positions beyond fiscal policy — on schools, health care, abortion and agriculture — could not be established from a source read directly.
The second argument against is inferred from the situation rather than drawn from a quoted statement, because no criticism of him by name from an opposing campaign was located.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Republican incumbent Jim Pillen is seeking a second term. Roster established from Wikipedia's race page, Ballotpedia, Nebraska Examiner, Nebraska Public Media, 1011 Now and the Washington Post, cross-checked. In the May 12 2026 primaries, Pillen won the Republican nomination with about 75-76% over five opponents and former state Senator Lynne Walz won the Democratic nomination with about 91% over Larry Marvin. Nebraska elects governor and lieutenant governor as a joint ticket: Pillen runs with Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly, Walz with farmer Ben Steffen. Two other tickets are on the ballot: Rick Beard of the Legal Marijuana NOW party, with Omaha Housing Authority commissioner Keenya Barnes, and former state Senator Brett Lindstrom, who ran for the Republican nomination for governor in 2022, failed to qualify as an independent in 2026, and then filed under the newly recognised America First Party on September 1 2026 with navy veteran Mike Picard. Beard is listed with empty argument sections — no organised advocacy for him and no criticism of him by name could be found.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Nebraska ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.